Investing

Stocks Slump in Early Trade; Apple Rockets On iPhone Sales

Stocks opened lower in weak trade Monday, despite strong company news boosting stocks such as Apple (AAPL) and General Electric (GE).

The S&P 500 pulled back 0.4%. The Nasdaq and the Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.2% each.

Volume swung lower, as expected, in the stock market today. Trade was down 75% on the Nasdaq and 85% on the NYSE compared with Friday's options and futures expirations-inflated activity.

Apple scorched 5% higher after reporting sales of 9 million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models since the Friday launch. The sales outstripped available supplies and were nearly double the opening weekend sales of the iPhone 5 a year ago.

The stock had been struggling since early September to break free of its converged 10- and 40-week moving averages.

Chipmaker RF Micro Devices (RFMD) snapped up 7% in heavy trade. A report from Canaccord reported the North Carolina-based company had a larger share of chips in Apple's new iPhone vs. the prior model. The stock trades below 6 a share.

Among leaders, only 15 stocks on the IBD 50 list advanced at the open.

TripAdvisor (TRIP) climbed more than 3% after an upgrade to buy from hold from Stifel Nicolaus. The online aggregator of travel information is starting the seventh week of a possible base.

On the downside, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) dived 4% in strong trade. The slip put shares 2% below an 82.61 buy point, and at a test of support at the 50-day moving average.